As circuit density continues to increase, there is a corresponding drive to produce ever smaller field effect transistors (FETs). Field effect transistors have typically been formed by providing active areas within a bulk substrate material or within a complementary conductivity type well formed within a bulk substrate. A technique finding greater application in achieving reduced transistor size is to form FETs with thin films, commonly referred to as "thin film transistor" (TFT) technology.
In the fabrication of TFTs, a thin film of material (typically polysilicon) with a substantially constant thickness is provided on an insulating substrate instead of a semiconductor chip. Source and drain regions are formed by ion implantation or diffusion, and gate insulators and gates are also formed, thus providing a FET having active and channel regions formed entirely within a thin film as opposed to a bulk substrate. The use of insulating substrates such as silicon dioxide, glass, or quartz decreases the cost of the completed device while offering benefits such as reduced bulk capacitance and increased operating speed. Because of these and other advantages, TFTs are especially desirable for use in memory and logic applications, particularly SRAMs, and in liquid crystal displays.
It is desirable in TFTs to use a film that is as thin as possible so that the channel region provides maximized desired on/off characteristics for the transistors. This thinness adversely affects source/drain region conductance, however, because the diminished volume of material creates undesirable elevated V.sub.cc source/drain resistance. Another disadvantage of TFTs is poor electrical performance because of defects in the polysilicon film such as grain boundaries. The effects of grain boundary defects, which include unwanted energy levels in the forbidden band, alteration of etching properties, and changes in electrical properties such as the value of the source/drain current and threshold voltage, are magnified in TFTs because of their small size.
Grain size and grain boundary consistency has a significant effect on the electrical current flow characteristics of thin films. Current resistance occurs as electrons cross grain boundaries, especially boundaries perpendicular to the direction of current flow. The larger and more numerous the grain boundaries, the higher the resistance. Typical TFTs have multiple grain boundaries within them because the channel length of the devices is much larger than the film thickness, which is usually approximately the same as the grain size.
There is needed, therefore, a thin film MOSFET with a minimum of grain boundaries, such that the MOSFET is typically formed in a single grain of polysilicon. A simple method of fabricating a thin film MOSFET with a minimum of grain boundaries is also needed.